It’s Thursday, so I am back to report on this week’s continuation of our State Park mission (to visit every State Park in Georgia.) Before I share about this week’s park, Red Top Mountain, I would like to add that I changed up our challenge a little bit. I had originally included State Historic Sites on our list of parks, but decide to remove them after realizing that they aren’t included in your State Park pass and would cost us $15 per site. Sorry Historic Sites. So that leaves us at 8 parks done, 38 to go!

Red Top Mountain is the State Park that is the most accessible to us. I had been there many times for hiking, boating, and other events prior to beginning this blog series. My overview of this park is really a compilation of many trips. The park itself, named for the hard Georgia red soil that covers it, is primarily a boating spot. It sits adjacent to the 12,000 acre man-made Lake Allatoona, and Red Top encourages enjoyment of the lake with a sandy swimming beach, marina, 2 boat ramps and docks. As a teenager, I spent many hours “tubing” on the back of friends’ boats in the lake. More recently, we have had fun paddling kayaks around the still parts of the lake, and exploring mini-islands that litter it. As long as you have life jackets, it is doable to kayak with a young child in between your legs in a sit-in kayak- as long as they are old enough to be mostly still and follow directions. Our 3 year really enjoyed doing so.

Red Top Mountain is not necessarily a place to go for challenging hikes or backcountry activities. Their 15 miles of trails are not strenuous, but a good place for running or getting outside for a long walk. Red Top does, though, do a real service to the area that it is located. Sitting right above true suburbia, it is wonderful that the community has an accessible place to enjoy the outdoors. You can participate in camping, swimming, tennis, boating, picnicking, and our favorite, outdoor putt putt. They have a really fun putt putt green in a wooden area near the swimming beach. We bring our own putter and balls, and have a good old fashioned game while our son enjoys climbing, running, and jumping all around the course like it’s his own personal obstacle course.

Overall, it is a great resource for people looking to enjoy the outdoors with plenty activities to choose from. I’m not sure which State Park we will head to this week, but I look forward to sharing about it!